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With a lower rent and more visibility, Schuylkill United Way will open in its new office at 9 N. Centre St., Suite 301, Pottsville, on Monday according to Executive Director Kelly K. Malone.

"We'll be here but we're still in the process of moving. We really are very fortunate to be here," Malone said Friday while touring the third-floor office space.

In the next two weeks, Roberts Signs, Pottsville, will be installing a sign for the organization on the brick wall outside the building facing North Centre Street. It will be 20 inches high and 36 inches wide, Malone said.

"This will be the first time we'll have a sign with this kind of visibility in downtown Pottsville," Malone said.

On Wednesday, the city's Historical Architectural Review Board gave the Schuylkill United Way a "soft certificate," allowing the organization to put up the sign. City council will give final approval at its next meeting, slated for 6:30 p.m. May 13 at City Hall.

Unlike the Schuylkill United Way's previous office space on the second floor of 91 S. Progress Ave., the office building at 9 N. Centre St., owned by Susquehanna Bank, has an elevator and is handicap accessible.

The office will open at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Malone said.

The Schuylkill United Way's hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The organization, now in its 77th year, has three full-time employees: Malone; William J. Folk III, director of community relations; and Terri Conville, administrative director.

Formed in January 1936 as the "Community Chest," the organization became the Schuylkill United Way in the 1970s, according to its website at schuylkillunitedway.org.

The organization moved to 91 S. Progress Ave. in 1990.

The Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce owned the building from 1991 to 2012. It was also home of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corp. for many years.

In early 2012, SEDCO decided to establish its headquarters on the second floor of the City of Pottsville's Union Station at 300 S. Centre St., and the Schuylkill Chamber decided to become a tenant there.

The Schuylkill Chamber sold the building at 91 S. Progress Ave. to Dr. Ashok Kumar and his wife, Indu Paul, in 2012 and moved to Union Station in January.

When the Schuylkill Chamber and SEDCO had their offices at 91 S. Progress Ave., the building was a hub for the business community and a great location for the Schuylkill United Way. When they left, the Schuylkill United Way started to consider its options, Malone said.

Schuylkill United Way had 891 square feet of office space at 91 S. Progress Ave. The rent was $891 a month, Malone said.

The new office on the third floor of 9 N. Centre St. is a 1,800-square-foot suite, and the rent is $833.34 a month, she said.

Traditionally, the rental for the third floor suite is $20,000 a year. But in a three-year deal with Schuylkill United Way, Susquehanna offered to donate $10,000 a year toward the $20,000 annual rent, Malone said.

If the Schuylkill United Way decides to stay at the location for the three-year period starting in 2016, the rent will go up 1.5 percent.

"And I think we're planning to stay," Malone said.

In March, Schuylkill United Way announced the overall goal of its 2014 campaign, "Together We Can," is $1,025,000.

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